The Alpkit Outdoor Gear Company

Since the early days people have been making their own outdoor gear and selling it to mates. If you have enough mates the word goes around and hey presto you have an outdoor gear company. Things have moved on a bit. These days there are a few big retailers and less independent shops to sell the equipment. If the big retailers there are don't want your gear then you have no hope. Well we think we have got the solution. We design, manufacture and source the best outdoor gear and sell direct to you. We are a small company with big plans. We hope you like what we do.

The Tall Story

The Alps have inspired us for the last 20 years. At one time they were sandwiched between the covers of glossy coffee table books, but as we grew up and cheap flights made them more accessible than Scotland we started to explore them ourselves. Not only were they everything we had expected; the terrifying vertical walls, the bottomless crevasses and the saw toothed peaks but we also discovered a softer side, green meadows, forested hill sides, sun warmed lakes, tasty bread and cappuccinos.

Kenny got a bit carried away with the whole idea. He left his job and moved out to Italy. The rest of us stayed in the UK but with 1 foot in the Alps things could be a lot worse. Every time we make a trip out we bring something back. It started with a few bottles of wine, some baskets of cheese but then developed in to a new attitude which then filtered into our product range. Now our inspiration is to build outdoor equipment in a way that everyone can use, kit that works on all levels.

The Short Story

There was a time when we had a lot of time free, so we stumbled into the outdoors. We worked in an outdoor shop, saved some cash, and got ourselves kitted out. We travelled, did some routes and life was good. Then our kit started falling apart, we were no longer students and we realised the cost of replacing it. As we waited to pick up yet another x-xtra large fleece in the sales we patched up our waterproofs and wore an extra jumper in our smelly sleeping bags.

During this time we realised that the passing years had taught us something, we had the experience to create something new.

And somewhere therein lays the real story of how Alpkit.com was born. Born out of the passion for outdoor activity and not accepting the costs involved in getting quality equipment in our sacks. Four ordinary people trying to make some thing extraordinary. And why Alpkit.com? it's just a name.. we go to the alps, we climb, we ride, we paddle, we swim, we run, we board, we visit our in laws.. we produce kit.. we didn't want it to be complicated.

Address

Reg. company number

5146091

VAT number

842698783

Alpkit Foundation

Charity Registered Number 1162585

Ethical Trading and Environmental Policies

Environmental considerations are at the forefront of our minds when we design a product and we scour our fabric mills to make considered environmental choices. We work with people we trust all over the world to the following guidelines:

Be a good employer providing a safe workplace

Use environmentally responsible materials and production techniques

Reduce, reuse, repair, recycle

We always choose organic cotton when it is available and our product descriptions always state when cotton is from an organic source

Do not use PVC

Minimise and recycle all our own waste

Compost all food waste generated whilst at work

Use renewable energy sources wherever possible

Source animal based materials using only the most humane methods. Source down from non-live plucked, non-force fed animals and merino from non-mulesing farms

All suppliers must agree to the Ethical Trading Initiative

No child labour

No prison labour

Fair payment of suppliers

No illegal transactions

No political donations

Donate 1% of our sales or 10% of our profit to the Alpkit Foundation

..we know our actions have consequences, we do care, and we do our best to do the right thing as the company grows.

We're unashamedly obsessive in our design process ...high quality, long lasting, durable, environmentally preferable products for experts. Made with a clear purpose and technical benefit but with as much cross-over as possible so they can be used for many outdoor activities.

Simplification is a mission for us. Keeping it simple is ingrained in what we do. We'll continue refining a product until there is nothing we want to add to it and nothing we want to take away. We slice away the faff to create better outdoor products, supported by knowledgeable enthusiasts.

Our designers love working directly with you, from the first idea through to the care you receive having bought something from us. Genuine feedback quickly influences design, that results in more considered, better products.

It is our belief that the products you love most: the ones you use and abuse year-in and year-out are ultimately the most environmentally friendly. Gear you repair, fix, hack and sew. This is we repair our products and any other brand too and have done since 2004.

But when your partnership with it is over then pass it on. Send it back to us and, through the Alpkit Foundation, we'll donate it to someone who needs it. And if you choose we'll pay for the return postage to do so.

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